Voulez-vous visiter le Quartier Chinois avec moi? by Confucius
The Chinatown in Paris extends from Tolbiac Metro Station southeast to Porte d'Ivry. It's difficult to find a dim sum restaurant, and many of the remaining Chinese restaurants in this area are closed between lunch and dinner. There is actually a cheap Chinese hotel in this neighborhood, so one could possibly choose accomodations amidst the Asian stores and restaurants. (Hotel Le Baron: 76, Avenue de Choisy, 75013 PARIS 33.1 45 85 33 33)However I truly didn't find any outstanding restaurants here worth recommending. They all seem to have similar menus and the prices range from about 6 - 8 Euros for the same dish. This is a good place to buy a few groceries if your hotel room has a refrigerator. I found myself trying various exotic fruit juices at small shops on almost every block. There are a couple of large supermarkets here as well, if you want more than just lychee juice and durian wafer cookies.How about a Chinese McDonald's in Paris? Isn't that neat? That's my fondest memory of Paris Chinatown!
One phenomena I observed is that a lot of the Chinese restaurants around here are actually Vietnamese with a Chinese name. You have to search around for authentic Cantonese or northern Chinese cuisine. I expected to see more Vietnamese restaurants than Chinese, so it wasn't really a major disappointment. I finally ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant called "Hao Hao" near McDonalds (23 Avenue de Choisy) only because they were one of the few restaurants still open between lunch and dinner.
I only went to Chinatown once during my brief 4 day stay in Paris, and during the other days enjoyed Chinese meals elsewhere in the city. I can't think of any other reasons to visit Chinatown beyond eating and shopping, and I didn't do much of either activity during the day that I went there.
I've heard about a smaller second Chinatown in Paris located at the northern district of Belleville in the 19th Arrondissement but I'm saving that one for my next trip to Paris!
